NSERC’s top priorities for 2023-24 were as follows:

• Conclude the multi-year project to modernize the Discovery Research Program aimed at continued support to a broad base of research funding with maximum impact.
• Promote research excellence through:
  • the adaptation of NSERC’s programs and processes to deliver on our commitment to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), thereby encouraging assessments that consider and value a broad range of contributions to research, training and mentoring.
  • the implementation of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) considerations into our programs, building on the new NSERC Guide on integrating EDI considerations into research.
• Develop a comprehensive and long-term strategy for Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) engagement that will support NSERC in carrying out work related to several Indigenous research priorities.
• Use the Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements Pilot Initiative to increase the number of awards offered to Indigenous applicants.
• Working with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) on the development of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee’s Tri-agency Training Strategy.
• Provide additional awards to meritorious Black students and fellows as a means to addressing barriers to equitable participation.
• Deliver PromoScience grants, with a sustained focus on science teachers and on underrepresented groups such as girls and Indigenous youth, which will reach an estimated one million young Canadians in 2023–24.
• In collaboration with SSHRC and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), fund Alliance grants to support fundamental and applied research, knowledge transfer, and related activities to support transformative science that will transition the agriculture sector to a net-zero emissions economy for 2050.
• Support the implementation of the National Quantum Strategy through funding opportunities that build on NSERC’s sustained support in quantum research, which include Alliance Quantum grants, Alliance International Catalyst Quantum grants, Alliance Consortia Quantum grants and Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) grants.
• Support multisectoral partnerships that accelerate the application of research results for social, environmental, and economic benefits through the launch of new joint initiatives within the Alliance and the College and Community Innovation (CCI) funding opportunities that connect federal support to regional and provincial support.
• Initiate the development of the NSERC Open Science Framework and Action Plan, to promote Open Science principles that encourage knowledge sharing and data access while respecting Indigenous data sovereignty.

In 2023-24, total actual spending (including internal services) for NSERC was $1,383,259,380 and total full-time equivalent staff (including internal services) was 508. For complete information on NSERC’s total spending and human resources, read the Spending and human resources section of the full report.

The following provides a summary of NSERC’s achievements in 2023-24 according to its approved Departmental Results Framework. A Departmental Results Framework consists of a department’s core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.